TOSCANO GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPDATE -- January 8, 2008
The 2008 session of the General Assembly commences at noon on Wednesday, January 9, 2008. This is the long session, which means we will be considering bills and the biennium budget over the next 60 days. There will be approximately 3,000 bills introduced, and considerable discussion of a variety of issues, from Pre-K Education to Mental Health to abusive driver fees.
We will see some change in Richmond this year. The Senate is now controlled by the Democrats and that the wide majority once enjoyed by the Republicans in the House has been reduced. This means that Democrats will likely pick up additional committee assignments. At present, I serve on the Courts of Justice Committee, the committee that handles more legislation than other in the House, and the Science and Technology Committee. But my committee assignments can change and I will not know if I will remain on my present committees until January 9th.
I have also been appointed to a special subcommittee to review many of the Mental Health Reform bills that will be introduced this session. This will be a very important subcommittee, and I hope that constituents who have any concerns about mental health restructuring will provide input to my office on bills of interest. As I view this issue, improving our Mental Health System will be a multi-year process and will require not just the changing of some laws, but the investment of resources to provide a wider array of services to those in need. In fact, changing the laws without making these financial investments will create further disruption in the system. Given the budget challenges that we face, there will be considerable discussion about how much to invest. The Governor has proposed a number of modest expansions, which include more monies for Community Services Boards (like Region Ten) and for crisis stabilization centers so that citizens experiencing a mental health crisis can get some services without having to be incarcerated or placed in an institutional setting.
Beyond mental health, the major debate will be centered on budget. With the economy slowing, the revenues available to fund the expansion of programs or the creation of new programs are extremely limited. The Governor has attempted to make modest improvements in our Pre-K program, and in our health care delivery system. But even these modest expansions will come under attack, and it is unclear whether they will survive the budget process. I hope we can retain pay increases for teachers and monies for K-12 education, as well as the additional monies for higher education in this budget. There is also a proposal for the state to issue bonds to help universities like UVA and community colleges like PVCC, which I hope we can pass so that the voters will be able to consider this initiative in November 2008. General Obligation Bonds require the approval of the legislature and the electorate before they can be issued.
At present, I am carrying approximately 20 bills. You can review all of my proposed legislation at Richmond Sunlight or on the Legislative Information Services website. Included in my bills are a tax credit for energy efficient new homes, a bill designed to reduce emissions from school buses, a bill that will require parental notification of the type of family life education provided by their school divisions (this will allow parents to know whether the family life education programs conforms with the State Guidelines that require medically accurate information to be disseminated), a bill to eliminate the recordation tax for providers of affordable housing, and several bills in the area of foster care and adoption.
As always, I love to hear from you with your concerns and input. Please feel free to email me at deldtoscano@house.state.va.us or to call our Richmond office at (804) 698-1057 or in Charlottesville at (434) 220-1660.
